A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip, want to discuss a story or have a subscription enquiry please feel free to email Betaville at [email protected]. Betaville can also be reached at Whats App, Signal or Telegram. Betaville's Twitter handle is @bharringtonw11 and you can message me via Twitter with stories.

Temenos under the spotlight - again!

Thursday, 9 August 2018, 8:14 pm

Temenos got a few punters hot under the collar today after the Swiss banking tech group saw its shares rise almost 6pc during intra-day trading and close at a fresh all-time high.

Now, to be clear Betaville has no fresh news or insight but I did do a piece earlier this year in The Sunday Times about how SoftBank was studying an audacious plan to set up a rival payments system to PayPal.

Part of that plan involved Temenos. Yikes! Below is a link:..

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Tags: Temenos

Silly season arrives...

Wednesday, 8 August 2018, 10:42 pm

Yes, it's that time that time of the year known as silly season (or the dog days of summer if your from across the pond).

In Europe, chief executives, bankers and hedge fund managers slope off to their villas or yachts in the Mediterranean while the juniors remain in the office to keep an eye on things...

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Sunday review on a Monday: Luke Johnson on WeWork

Monday, 6 August 2018, 5:58 pm

Betaville wasn't too impressed with Luke Johnson's columns when he first arrived at The Sunday Times several years ago.

However, the entrepreneur, investor and now journalist has managed to turn it around, churning out some real humdingers in recent weeks.

Indeed, this website particularly enjoyed this weekend's cynical piece by Luke on WeWork, the shared co-working space. Below is a link to the column:..

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China outbound M&A. A second wave coming...? - Part 5

Wednesday, 1 August 2018, 8:47 pm

Betaville has been banging on about this second wave of China-backed interest in European businesses for the last month or so.

And today there has been further evidence to back this website's theories. A group of Chinese investors have snapped Irish stockbroker Goodbody for EURO 150 million. Below is a link to a Financial Times report on the deal:..

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Capital & Counties dust up rumbles on...

Tuesday, 31 July 2018, 10:31 am

Ping!

An email arrives containing a letter Councillor Stephen Cowan wrote to the residents of the Gibbs Green and West Kensington housing estates about how Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of Capital & Counties, said he plans to return the estates to the Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

..

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: Telit Communications said to ... - Part 11

Friday, 27 July 2018, 3:45 pm

Sierra Wireless is said to be circling Telit Communications, the Aim-listed Internet of Things device manufacturer.

Sierra Wireless, a Canadian IoT company, is thought to be interested in an all-share combination with Telit and is believed to have informally sounded out some of the company's shareholders about a deal, said sources claiming to be familiar with the matter...

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The London-listed litigation specialist, the super yacht and the oligarch...

Thursday, 26 July 2018, 9:01 pm

Has Burford Capital bitten off more than it can chew?

Readers might remember a piece I wrote in the The Sunday Times business section a few weeks ago about how Tatiana Akhmedova had enlisted Burford Capital, the Aim-listed litigation funder, to help her recover £453 million from former husband Farkhad Ahkmedov, including a 377 ft super-yacht called Luna. Below is the link:..

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Pro European City types cook up new British advocacy group / political party - The Series Returns...

Monday, 23 July 2018, 2:01 pm

Loyal readers will be aware that this website was one of the first "media organisations" to flag up the story about how powerful business people with cash and connections to politicians, such as Roland Rudd, are looking to back a Pro European centrist group interested in establishing a new political party following the dreaded Brexit. Below is a link to the original piece and follow up in the The Sunday Times...

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: Prudential said to ...

Friday, 20 July 2018, 11:08 am

Prudential, the FTSE 100-listed insurance company, is said to have received a merger proposal for its UK and European operations ahead of the completion of its demerger into two separately-listed companies.

Earlier this week, the Financial Times suggested Germany's Allianz or a Chinese group is interested in buying the whole of Prudential...

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Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-Part 6

Friday, 20 July 2018, 8:51 am

There is an intriguing little diary piece in today's The Times about how a mystery property tycoon with a penchant for the Latin phrase Veni Vidi Vici has bought 200 copies of Oliver Shah's new tome about Sir Philip Green and is handing them out to friends, business acquaintances and colleagues.

Below is a link to Dom Walsh's City people diary column:..

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: BTG said to ...

Thursday, 19 July 2018, 4:20 pm

BTG has come under the spotlight amid talk a big hostile deal involving a London-listed company is brewing.

Sources claiming to be familiar to be familiar with the matter said BTG, the life sciences company, may have attracted a potential suitor.

However, it's not clear which company might be interested in aquiring BTG, whose chief executive is facing a showdown with investors over payments to her former finance director...

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Tags: BTG

[Disclaimer - the information on Betaville does not consitute any form of investment recommendation and is not intended to be relied upon by readers in making, or refraining from, any investment decisions].